State Trooper Fatally Shot At Delaware Wawa; 1 In Custody

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — An on-duty Delaware State Police trooper was shot and killed at a Wawa in the 1600 block of Pulaski Highway in Bear Wednesday.

The trooper has been identified as Stephen J. Ballard, 32. He was an 8-year veteran of the Delaware State Police.

Ballard noticed a suspicious car with two suspects inside. Police say one of those suspects fired several rounds at the trooper, striking him.

“This is a sad day for our state and our state police family,” said Col. Nathaniel McQueen Jr. of the Delaware State Police.

“I was right here watching the shots. I did, that’s horrific,” said one man who didn’t want to be identified.

“I saw him fall, yeah it was something I didn’t want to see,” said another.

Police say that one suspect is in custody, the other fled the scene on foot and is barricaded inside a home in the Brick Mill Farm Development and is firing at police.

“Some of the residents have been evacuated due to the fact that he is firing at the police officers and in the neighborhood,” said a member of the Delaware State Police.

The Caprioti family says the whole thing is unlike anything this community has ever seen.

“Unfortunately, our nanny is stuck in our house with our two young boys, so we’re kind of unsure of what’s going on at this point,” one neighbor said. “We hope that they can resolve it without anyone else getting hurt.”

Roads were shut down for a procession for the fallen trooper as the public paid their respects.

At one point police used an explosive device to breach the door but they never went in.